As a group of Carlton Viveiros Elementary School fifth-graders gathers around the free-throw line in the school’s gym, they’re thinking about more than scoring points.

As they practice their shooting form, they’re also thinking about math — like the percentage of attempted shots that find the net. That is just one of the lessons incorporated into a new enrichment class led by teacher Holland Landy that focuses on the game of basketball on and off the court.

Twice a week, 15 fifth-graders gather in Landy’s class with basketball on their minds.

While the students are itching to fire off jumpers, they first spend Tuesday focused on academic aspects of the game they may never have considered.

One day may mean researching information about their favorite player and writing a report. The next time the group meets, they might measure the dimensions of the court to calculate perimeter and area. History is learned through lessons about the creation and evolution of the game.

“They don’t even think of this as learning,” Landy said. “They’re more into making free throws. They become so engaged in the sport, and that’s great.”

The students agree. Ask them to discuss the beginning of the game, and hands shoot up in hopes of being called on to discuss James Naismith and his famous peach basket. Some are quick to offer the facts they’ve learned about Lebron James or Derrick Rose.

“Most of the time we have academics, but when we do it’s fun,” student Avantay Pereira said.

Landy said the class, which is one of Viveiros’ enrichment classes associated with the extended day program, is meant to blur the line between education and fun.

“It’s intended to get kids active and engaging, yet at the same time promote academics,” Landy said. “The truth is the No. 1 thing is the academics, whether it’s (English language arts) or math.”

On days when academics aren’t the sole focus, students hit the floor to play games, which bring another set of unintended lessons. Adding to the authenticity is the donation of T-shirt jerseys from Fishbone T Company, owned by Chris Anteo.

As teams of five race back and forth across the court, Landy points out that students are learning about teamwork and building relationships with students they may not have interacted with previously.

“I think this is one way of deterring negative behavior, and a way to get them thinking with a team approach rather than an ‘I’ approach,” Landy said. “They are also learning the rules of the game — and there are a lot of rules in basketball, just like in the classroom.”